Seta'al
by penned-with-passion
Summary: From C.J. Cherryh's The Faded Sun Trilogy. We finally find out how a mri warrior, or in this case, Duncan, gets his kel-scars.


A/n: For those who've read The Faded Sun Trilogy this begins right after the regul turn on their human allies as well as fire upon the mri cities.

For those who haven't read the series:

Mri are a golden skin, hair, and eye alien race that is split into three castes. The Kel who fight, Sen who are the scholars, and Kath, the gentle caste of women and children. Their leader is called she'pan, also known as Mother.

Dus are large ursine like creatures with tiny eyes and venomous claws. They often form bonds with members of the kel.

Regul are a flat faced squat race with long memories who rely one machinery for mobility.

This is my first fanfiction, please be kind. I'm sorry if it's terrible, I've chosen a topic in The Faded Sun Trilogy that C. J. Cherryh only refers to a handful of times, so I'll be taking a TON of liberties. This is the story how Duncan receives the _seta'al_, the kel-scars.

...

Kel-tent was silent. Much of kel, including the stranger-kel'ein, were still mourning their kel-brothers and sisters. Night had fallen and the human sen'ein had already gone back to their ship. It would be many days of talk between the Council and the humans before anything was settled upon. But those were Sen matters and not for kel'ein, but decisions were being made that involved all mri so it was the kel'anth'ein's duty to be there. Duncan was only involved to translate for the humans.

Niun looked to his sov-kela where he leaned against his dus one arm across its back. All those that were left with the dus bond now sat together regardless of rank. It seemed to give Duncan the most comfort to have these few beside him.

Yesterday had been particularly hard on Duncan. How many more times and in what ways were Duncan's loyalties going to be questioned? How many more times will his sov-kela need to prove how mri he is? Niun decided then that he would never pose these questions on Duncan.

Instead of settling in for the night Niun stood up and left Kel-tent without a word.

In Sen-tent Niun found Melein was still awake.

"Can't sleep, Kel'anth?" she asked gently.

Niun knelt at her right hand, "Haven't tried to sleep yet, Mother."

"What bother's you? Surely not a matter from Kel?"

"No," he answered keeping his head bowed,

"Then what brings you to me at this hour, my Kel'anth?"

Niun looked up at Melein. Having already lowered his veil his face was bare to her. "I think Duncan has proved himself to be a warrior of the mri."

"Do it. Give our Duncan the _seta'al_, he has rightfully earned them."

Niun kissed Melein's brow, received one in return and left for Kel-tent.

…

Before the sun could peek over the horizon Duncan was awoken and pulled out of Kel-tent.

"Duncan, dismiss the dus," Niun ordered, "they can't come where we go."

So with a mental command and a "Yai" he did so, despite his confusion. "What's going on?" he asked as they continued to drag him towards Kath.

"You always ask so many questions, kel Duncan. Are you a kel warrior or not?"

"I am a kel warrior," Duncan replied as they made it to Kath entrance.

"Good. Kath will take care of you. We will be here when they are done." Duncan was into the waiting hands of three Kath women. With a bitten off question Duncan resigned himself to whatever his sov-kela had in stored for him.

In an instant Duncan was stripped of all clothing and scrubbed down with sand over every inch of his body. Before he could even open his mouth to react he was dressed again and lead back out of Kath where the Kath'anth deposited him into Niun's hands saying, "Take our Duncan, Kel'anth, and make him a warrior," with the straightest face he ever saw. But Duncan could see the merriment in even the eyes of the serious kel'ein who laid hands on him once more.

It was plain that this was a serious matter but even the straight faced mri had a sense of humor. And those around him certainly found it funny to keep Duncan in the dark as to what was going on.

With a solemn nod from Niun the small group left Kath behind.

Immediately Duncan found himself at Sen's entrance kneeling in front of the she'pan. Melein took his hands in her's. With a critiquing sound she let them go only to take his face in her hands. Meeting eye to eye, Duncan could see the same amused twinkle he saw in nearly every other face around him.

Letting go of his face Melein turned to Niun and proclaimed, "I see a warrior before me, Kel'anth, make him so." Just like that Duncan was on his feet and they were on the move again.

Their next stop wasn't one Duncan expected but it didn't exactly surprise him. By now he was all but certain he knew what was in store for him.

Niun stopped in the entrance to the kel-shrine and turned to face Duncan. "Is it your wish to become a kel-warrior and bear the _seta'al_?" he asked solemnly.

"Yes," Duncan answered just as solemn. On the inside he was ecstatic to have his suspicion confirmed.

A look passed behind him and kel Peras went off towards kel-tent at a fast pace. That just left him, Niun, and kel Ras entering kel-shrine. Where Duncan noticed a handled blade much like the _as-ei_, the palm-blades, a strip of lacquered leather, a small bowl of blue liquid, a curved needle, thread, and a container of sand set together on the floor away from the shrine barrier. Duncan could only surmise that the sand was for cleaning way the blood. Taking a closer look he saw that the strip of leather had many small indents in it. Teeth marks.

Duncan was instructed to lie upon the floor, but before he could Niun stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Sov-kela, this will be very painful and you must bear it." Duncan nodded mri-wise indicating he understood.

Once laying down Ras held Duncan down by his shoulders as Niun straddled his waist. Settled, Niun placed the leather strip in Duncan's mouth and told him to bite firmly. "So you don't crack any teeth," he explained.

"Blue for Kath,"Niun intoned as he picked up the knife, "who take care of us as we, of Kel, take care of them." The blue dye liquid clung thickly to the blade as Niun dipped the knife in the bowl, turning it over to make sure it was coated on both sides. "The three scars on each cheek," he continued, "represent the castes. Reminding us that while separated into castes we are all of the People." Duncan watched as it dripped once before Niun brought the blade towards his face. Then there was no more time for watching.

The thin sharp blade drew a line of fire from his inner eye to the outer edge of his cheek following his cheekbone. As the process was continued twice more below the first cut and then again on his left cheek Duncan could certainly see the need for the leather strip and physical restraints.

The pain was worse than experiencing multiple jumps had been before he figured out the mri way was to throw oneself as in a round of _shon'ai_. Except this time Duncan was mri enough to swallow most of his pain, or at least any sound he might have made had he still been human enough to scream.

…

Niun watched with silent pride as Duncan curled up against his dus for comfort against any lingering pain. He had born the pain during the _seta'al_ ritual better than he could have ever hoped for. His sov-kela was fully mri.


End file.
